LIKE the Class 08 shunters last issue, trainmen were not ordinarily involved with HSTs on shed– which, unlike Class 08s, I do regret. They are appealing trains and somehow always manage to draw the eye, even when engaged in the mundane, such as being cleaned or refuelled.
One of the fitters in the ‘wind tunnel’ was ex-BREL (British Rail Engineering Ltd) and had helped build HSTs at the Carriage Works – but whenever this was mentioned during night shed, his usual response was always: “We never did anything at BREL on nights, except sleep.” I always liked that broad generalisation and could only conclude that the day shift must have been extremely busy.
Someone must have done something at some point, however, because about 30 train sets were turned out from there during his tenure in the late 1970s. I suppose his indifference was a result of having to act as nursemaid to them just over a decade later. Also, the train sets had covered millions of miles by that time, when all he had done was cross the road from the Carriage Works assembly line to 4 Shed’s fuel line.
A FIRST CLASS TURN
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